Torture

Guy Fawkes was taken to the Tower of London after his audience with the King, in the hope that the guards there could get him to talk. Fawkes was tough and determined not to give away any secrets, so the guards had their work cut out.

King James was so frustrated by Fawkes' silence he ordered the Tower guards to torture their prisoner, and even told them 'God speed your good work.'

Both Protestants and Catholics used torture around the time of the Gunpowder Plot. The picture below shows a Catholic man being tortured. It's not Guy Fawkes, but he may have suffered something like this.

Theatre des Cruatez des Heretiques, 1607. By permission of the British Library.

Historians don't know for sure exactly what happened to Fawkes in the Tower, but amazingly, we do have some evidence that has been kept safe for four hundred years.

Fawkes signed his name on two documents while he was imprisoned in the Tower. They were meant to be confessions, detailing his crimes. One was signed on November 8th 1605, the next on the 9th.

Many historians believe these signatures show us Guy Fawkes was tortured in the Tower. What do you think?

Drag and drop the dates...

National Archives (UK).